Alpine A390 review: Price, specifications and availability

The A390’s electric motors are manufactured at a dedicated facility in Clion, and the NMC batteries are sourced from a company called Verkor, but with modules produced in Dunkirk and assembled at Renault Group’s facility in Douai. Meanwhile, the chassis was designed and built at the company’s factory in Le Mans.

As with the smaller A290 and indeed with many Renaults (4, 5 and upcoming Twingo), it’s an electric car for committed Francophiles. Not only does Alpine capitalize on its exotic past, it is an embodiment of the technical prowess of the wider group.

The platform is an evolution of the AmpR Medium architecture already in service under Megane E-Tech and Scenic, and Nissan’s Arya and Leaf, a necessary synergy given the enormous cost of developing these things. But some notable efforts have been made here to differentiate the A390 and justify the investment and Porsche’s aspirations.

“The driving force behind the A390’s dynamics was to make it as fast and agile as the A110,” says Robert Bonito, Vice President of Vehicle Projects. “To achieve this, we had to eliminate the influence of the battery’s weight with a technical solution to enhance the perceived lightness.”

Courtesy of Thomas Courtesy/Alpine

“Perceived” is the key word here. The A110 is beloved by die-hard car enthusiasts because it weighs just 1140kg, an excellent achievement in this day and age. The A390 is roughly twice that size, which is inevitable given its propulsion method, but it sticks as closely as possible to Alpine’s basic recipe. The 89 kWh battery uses a new chemistry and cooling system for more sustained power and performance, and more efficient charging and discharging.

The A390 is also unique in this class by having three engines, one coil on the front axle and two permanent synchronous motors on each of the rear wheels, for a total power output of 396 hp in GT guise, rising to 463 hp in GTS guise.